It was a rather startling morning for Lawrence residents as they awoke to find a large snowstorm in progress. The local temperature plummeted from 32 to 24 degrees between 10 a.m. and noon and the official forecast was calling for a further drop into the zero to 10-degree range tonight, with more snow expected.

Despite strong opposition from Kansas Power and Light Co., Wakarusa Township officials, and about a dozen local residents, the Lawrence City Commission had been unanimous in taking the first step toward annexation of 1,780 acres northwest of the city limits. KPL officials said that the move would result in a 13 percent electric rate increase for all Lawrence customers, and other area landowners objected to the annexation, saying that the cost to them in added taxes would far exceed the benefit of city services.